Sal Frelick ends Brewers' home-run drought in 13-2 blowout of Diamondbacks

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Milwaukee Brewers' Sal Frelick, right, celebrates with David Hamilton after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Milwaukee Brewers' Sal Frelick rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) — Milwaukee Brewers' Sal Frelick, right, celebrates with David Hamilton after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Audio By Carbonatix

9:42 PM on Tuesday, April 28

By STEVE MEGARGEE

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sal Frelick hit a solo shot to end Milwaukee’s stretch of seven straight games without a homer and Tyler Black went 3 for 5 with three RBIs as the Brewers trounced the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-2 on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee broke the game open by scoring eight runs in the sixth off reliever Andrew Hoffmann, whose earned run average rose from 2.38 to 8.49.

Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas singled in the eighth inning and has hit safely in all 21 games he has played this season. Vargas actually has a 24-game hitting streak if his last three games from 2025 are included.

Vargas has matched the fourth-longest, single-season hitting streak in Diamondbacks history. The record belongs to Luis Gonzalez, who had a 30-game hitting streak in 1999.

Frelick put the Brewers ahead for good when he led off the second inning by sending a 1-2 pitch from Merrill Kelly (1-2) over the wall in right-center field. Frelick’s 396-foot drive was Milwaukee’s first homer since Turang hit a two-run shot off Miami’s Sandy Alcantara on April 18.

This represented Milwaukee’s longest such drought since August 1999, when the Brewers went a franchise-record 13 straight games without homering. According to Sportradar, the Chicago White Sox also went seven straight games without a homer from April 5-11 of this year.

Milwaukee extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth on a two-out single from Joey Ortiz.

Arizona cut the margin to 3-2 in the fifth as James McCann singled home two runs after Chad Patrick (2-1) walked the bases loaded. That was the only hit Patrick allowed in five innings, though he also walked five.

Milwaukee answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

The game got out of hand in the sixth as Milwaukee’s first eight batters reached on seven singles and a walk. Contreras and Jake Bauers each singled home two runs in that inning. Hamilton had a two-run double.

Jake Woodford worked the last three innings to earn his first save.

Up next

Eduardo Rodríguez (2-0, 2.89 ERA) pitches for Arizona and Brandon Sproat (0-1, 6.45) starts for Milwaukee when the three-game series continues Wednesday night.

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